Teacher dismissal process long, costly

What does it take to fire a teacher? Way too much, if the Heidi Kaeslin case is any indication.

Michael Fitzgerald

What does it take to fire a teacher? Way too much, if the Heidi Kaeslin case is any indication.

Kaeslin was a Lincoln Unified special-education teacher. In 2011, school officials became suspicious she was using a school computer to run pornographic websites.

After months of investigation, they concluded Kaeslin was guilty of "numerous acts of immoral and unprofessional conduct, violations of rules and repeated dishonesty."

They allege she dabbled in four porno websites using a school computer; she or her friends took "Girls Gone Wild"-type topless photos out on the Delta; and she lied when questioned.

On top of that, the scandal - which included an extramarital affair with a school resource officer - went viral. The school district got international egg on its face.

An ordinary worker guilty of such misconduct would be kicked so far out the door s/he'd land two ZIP codes over.

But officials couldn't fire Kaeslin. The Education Code says it must first take 45 days to correct any unprofessional conduct. Or 90 days to correct unsatisfactory performance.

Kaeslin was put on paid leave for months.

In March, having duly slogged through the steps, Lincoln Unified trustees voted unanimously to fire Kaeslin. That was just the beginning.

Taking advantage of her rights under the Education Code, Kaeslin appealed her firing. The district had to empanel a "commission on professional competence."

An administrative law judge heads this three-person panel. An educator selected (and paid for) by the school board and another selected by Kaeslin fill the other seats.

Over a year has passed. The hearing is still grinding on.

The cost to the school district - to taxpayers - for such hearings ranges from $150,000 to $300,000.

A 2009 Los Angeles Times investigation found that the dismissal process is such a costly and frustrating rigmarole that most school higher-ups won't even hazard it in all but the very worst cases.

Because even when school officials make the Herculean effort to fire a California teacher, the three-person panel refuses to uphold the firings about one-third of the time, even when grounds for firing are proved.

The dismissal process is so out of whack that many school districts prefer to pay teachers to go away, even though - no, because - some are guilty of egregious misconduct. Officials don't want them around kids.

The dismissal system isn't all bad. It discourages hasty or arbitrary firings. It protects falsely accused teachers. It encourages school officials to mentor substandard teachers.

No school official would discuss the Kaeslin case. In general, though, they had lots to say about the dismissal process.

"Where the reform needs to occur is when it is necessary to take steps to terminate a permanent, state-certificated teacher," said Tom Uslan, Lincoln Unified's superintendent. "The process should not be as cumbersome and as lengthy and as costly as the system currently the state has in place."

When permanent classified employees are fired, their dismissal hearing is conducted by the school board. "That seems to be an appropriate process to me that works well," Uslan said.

Mick Founts, superintendent of the San Joaquin County Office of Education, favors expanding the two-year trial period to five years.

The current system sometimes backfires on teachers. "They're (administrators are) 'quick to kick' because we're worried if that person gets locked in and is terrible, we'll have a hard time getting them out."

State Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Pacoima, has for years pushed a bill that would speed the firing process in the worst cases of sex, drugs or violence. Even this common-sense reform is thwarted.

So schools are stuck with teachers guilty of misconduct, to say nothing of ones who are lazy or incompetent.

It's the children who get hurt, failing to learn, reaching higher grades unprepared.

"When you have a teacher that is basically injuring 150 kids a day," said Founts, "personally I believe you take whatever time, whatever amount of money, whatever effort it takes to remove that person.